


Of Song and Dance

by KaytiKazoo



Series: How It Could Have Been [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bubble Bath, Dancing and Singing, Family Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:26:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26315641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaytiKazoo/pseuds/KaytiKazoo
Summary: Deke and Delilah have a nighttime ritual of a bath and a song.
Relationships: Deke Shaw/Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Series: How It Could Have Been [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903096
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	Of Song and Dance

Delilah Melinda Johnson was born  April 1 st , in the middle of the night, after Daisy had been in labor for  thirty-six hours. She was small and pink, and the most precious thing Deke had ever seen. She was born with a full head of dark hair, and gripped Deke's finger as tight as she could. As she grew up, she looked just like her Papa, the shape of her eyes, the curl of her hair, even the curve of her adorable little ears, except she had Daisy’s smile. 

“Alright, songbird,” Deke said, scooping her up off the floor where she was playing with her  Playdoh dog she’d made earlier. “Time for your bath.”

“Yay!” 

He cradled her against his chest and kissed her over her cheek.  She giggled and threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him  with a loud, exaggerated sound on the jaw where she could reach. His beard had always made her giggle, ever since she was a baby and he blew raspberries into her tummy . 

“Daddy!” she squealed as he  pretended to eat her shoulder as if he were a carnivore who had nabbed up his meal. 

“What’s this?” Daisy asked,  passing through  with the mail, heading for the kitchen. “Daddy having a songbird snack?”

“ She’s delicious  _ and  _ nutritious!” Deke said, and Delilah  giggled, wiggling in his arms. 

“ Good, I took a long time baking her so she better be,” Daisy teased, leaning in to tickle Delilah’s sides.

“Mama!” she  squealed.

“Off to the birdbath with  the both of  you,” Daisy said, kissing her cheek and then smiling at Deke. 

He carried Delilah into the bathroom and set her down.

“Grab your toys and the bubbles you want, songbird,” he said. She went to the rolling cart and opened the drawer with her name on it. He started up the bath and let the water get warm, but not too hot, before she brought over the lavender bubble bath. 

“This one. Makes me sleepy,” she said.

“You’re such a good girl,” he said, taking the bubble bath from her. “What toys did you grab? Who’s joining us today?”

She grabbed the five toys she was allowed to bring into the bath with her and brought them over to him.

“There’s the Major,” she said, placing on the ledge her toy soldier she had taken from Luke that she said reminded her on Uncle Mack who had always spoiled her with anything she wanted ever since she was born.

“A good choice.”

“And I’ve got Bobo,” she said, placing a rubber duck wearing a tie that she always used as a placeholder for Fitz in her place. There was a rubber chicken she used for Jemma and called Nana, but it had thematically been separated from Bobo a few weeks before and hadn’t been found yet. 

“Wonderful.”

“Uncle Phil,” she said, setting a robot dinosaur in line. Daisy had cackled the first time Delilah had introduced him.

“A solid line-up here, songbird.”

“Pinkie,” she said, setting down the orange shark that had come in one of the toys that she’d gotten for her birthday the year before. 

“Okay.”

“And Flops,” she said, setting a green seaplane on the ledge. It didn’t have a face, but she named it anyway and gave it a little personality. He liked to flop into the water instead of landing nicely, because he liked the spray of water. 

“A great party,” Deke complimented. 

“Thank you!”

He poured the bubble bath into the running water and let the tub fill while Delilah threw off her dress. She had always loved bath time, even when she was a newborn. Luke, by contrast, had screamed as a newborn, and complained loudly as he started to talk. Getting him to shower now that he was nearly nine was practically impossible. 

“Alright,” he said. “It’s ready.”

She climbed in and sank into the water, then she swept her arm along the ledge to bring all the toys in with her.

“Can you put some music on, Daddy? Please.” 

“I sure can,” he said. He started his playlist titled Songbird which was a compilation of all the songs that Delilah loved, from the ones he sang her to sleep with to the ones she sang to him in the car. She loved to sing. Ever since she could talk, she’d been singing to him. He’d sat her on his lap, singing her songs from his year in the 80s, and songs he’d learned ever since. She loved when he put her name into songs.

“Thank you,” she said. She swayed and wiggled in the water to the beat. “Dance with me.”

He danced along with her, wiggling his hips to the same beat she was. 

“Oh, dance party in here,” Daniel said, stepping into the doorway to check on them. 

“Hi Papa!” she called. 

“Hi sweet girl.”

She grinned, and made Flops wiggle in the water alongside her. 

Deke matched her wiggle and, looking at Daniel, raised his eyebrows at him until Daniel joined. He loved watching his husband’s awkward 50s dancing, the way he didn’t quite move his feet, hips, and arms at the same time. Deke had tried to teach him, but it was a failed experiment every time. It was still nice to try, though. He loved putting his  hands on Daniel’s hips, moving them back and forth to the beat of the song. Even their three-year-old daughter danced better than Daniel Sousa, but it was endearing.

“Atta boy,” Deke said. Daniel winked at him. “What’s up?”

“Just checking on you,” Daniel said. “Like seeing you with her still. Won’t ever get used to it, you being a father, the father of our children.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmmhm,” he said, nodding. “Very much so.”

Deke smiled at him.

“You’ll have to show me how much you like it later.”

“Maybe I will,” he said, “after the kids go to bed.”

“Promises,” Deke said, turning back to Delilah as she swung Flops through the air, the spray of water fanning out around her in a circle. “Oh! Hello!”

“Sorry,” she giggled. He reached in and splashed water up her chest and underneath her chin. The ends of her long dark brown hair were wet, sticking together into cute points. “Daddy!”

“Oops,” he said innocently. “Didn’t see you there, songbird.”

“Daddy, you did it on  _ purpose! _ ”

“Did I?”

“Yes!”

“Hmmm, I don’t remember that.”

“Daddy!”

He grabbed the cup from the ledge and dipped it into the water, avoiding bubbles as much as he could. 

“Tip your head back, bird,” he said, and she did. He poured the wall slowly over her head, making sure to keep it off her face and out of her eyes. It took a couple of cups to wet her hair, since it was thick like Daisy’s, but she never rushed him. She would stay in the bath for hours if he let her. “Okay, which shampoo tonight?”

“Bees!”

He grabbed the bottle with bees on it and washed her hair, keeping it out of her eyes. He used the foamed shampoo to  sculpt her hair upwards into a flopped mohawk. She giggled.

“Look at you,” he said. He grabbed the handheld mirror from the counter for her to look at herself in. 

“I’m  _ lovely _ !” she said. That was definitely Jemma coming out of her mouth. 

“You are!” he agreed.

She admired herself for a few more seconds before she passed the mirror back and tipped her head back. Deke dipped the cup again and poured it over her head, washing the soap from her hair carefully. She sighed happily. 

“All good?”

“All good,” she echoed in a small voice. 

He let her try her hand at conditioning the ends of her hair and took over working it up towards her face, pointedly not thinking about the day when she didn’t need him. It felt like just yesterday that he’d laid on the floor of her nursery with her asleep on his chest because it was the only way he could get her to sleep, Daisy and Daniel both tucked into bed for early morning meetings. She’d been so small, and needed him for so much. But sooner than he’d like, she’d be off to school with Luke, and there’d be pieces of her life he didn’t know about. He was so excited to see what she would do in her life, but if she could just slow down and hold off on those grand adventures, he would be grateful. 

“Atta girl,” he cooed. “I’m going to grab your towel. Don’t go under the water while I’m gone.”

“I won’t, Daddy.”

He kissed her forehead and stood up. Somehow, he’d managed to get his shirt wet, even beyond what Delilah had managed to do. He stripped it off and, with Delilah’s clothes, dropped it into the hamper on his way out. 

“Oh,” Daisy said as he stepped out of the bathroom but left the door open in case Delilah needed him. “ _ Hello _ mister.”

She caught his wrist and dragged him into her for a kiss. He slid his hands up her back and held her against his chest for a moment. 

“I have to get back, Delilah’s in –”

“Yeah, I know. She’s okay. I can hear her playing. Let me enjoy kissing my husband.”

“I absolutely can do that.”

She kissed him deeper and let her tongue slip into his mouth, sliding her hands up his bare chest.

“I love you, Deke Shaw,” she murmured, “I was listening to you and Delilah in there. ” 

“Oh?”

“I forget how good you are somedays. We’re always rushing from meeting to meeting, getting the kids, making dinner, calls to the team to keep up with everyone. We’re always on the move, and it’s a good life together, but I never stop to realize how wonderful you are, how good you are, how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown. I love you. I’m so glad you came home with us.”

“Me too. I love you, too.”

Deke extracted himself from her hands, and kissed her forehead.

“I’ve got to get back.”

“I know.”

He opened the hall closet and grabbed her towel with the mood that made her look like a monkey, a gift from Bobo. When he got back, Delilah had dropped one of her toys out of the tub and was trying to reach it, spilling water all over the floor. There was never a bath time with either of the kids that didn’t end with having to mop up the floor. 

“What’d you do?”

“Lost Bobo,” she replied. “He was trying to find Nana still, and fell off the ledge trying to fly.”

“Oh.”

“He’s going to get her. He’s determined.”

“He always does.”

He knelt down in front of the tub again, grabbing Bobo and handing him back.

“Okay, let’s get you scrubbed down, babe.”

He grabbed her washcloth and dipped it in the water.

“I can do that!” she said, taking the washcloth from him and holding it out. He took her body wash and squirting a bit into the cloth. She cleaned herself while he supervised, making sure that she didn’t hurt herself or get any soap in her eyes. “See! I’m good at stuff!”

“You sure are,” Deke agreed. Once she was clean, he sat back against the counter while she played for a bit, making little music videos with her toys, dramatic story lines set to music. When her fingers and toes were pruned, and the water was cooling, the bubbles almost gone, Deke reached over and drained the tub. He held out the towel and Delilah stood. “Up we go, songbird.”

He wrapped her in the towel, pulling the hood up over her head.

“Can we do our song, Daddy?”

“Yeah, baby, we can do the song.”

He held her against him while he switched the song. There had always been one song that Delilah loved above every other song, despite Deke’s attempts. As the music started up, he shifted her against him, his cheek right against hers. 

“I need a girl like you, yeah, yeah,” they lip synced. Sometimes she decided they had to sing it, but sometimes she just wanted to pretend like she was on stage without the work. That was okay, it was just a fun thing they did together before bed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need a girl like you, yeah,  yeah . I spent the last night on the last flight to you, took a whole day up trying to get way up.”

On the ooh-ooh, she dropped her head back like she was howling at the ceiling. Deke chuckled, but kept singing along, swinging gently back and forth. 

There was nothing cuter than Delilah Johnson in the entire world, and there wasn’t anything that could convince him otherwise.

He glanced in the mirror and saw Daisy recording them from the door. He turned his head and pressed a kiss into Delilah’s cheek while she wiggled in his arms. He kept her held close, one hand on her back and the other around her waist, legs dangling.

Daisy lowered the phone and stepped into the bathroom as the song wound down.

“You’re too goddamn cute,” Daisy said. “I’ve never seen you do that.”

Deke shrugged, lifting Delilah a little higher onto his waist. He had to brush her hair, and get her into her pajamas, help her brush her teeth. He was content to hold her against him like this. She wouldn’t be so little for long. He wouldn’t be able to hold her against him like this where his hand fit perfectly against her back. She’d grow up. She’d have an attitude, and not want to be seen with her dad. She’d stop calling him Daddy, and start calling him Dad if she called him anything at all. She wouldn’t want to lip sync to songs with him, or let him call her songbird, or tell him stories about Bobo and Nana trying to get back to each other. 

She’d always be his little girl, but she wouldn’t be little forever, not to sound like a Facebook mom. 

“I love you, songbird,” he murmured into her cheek. “Never will be another girl like you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this video](https://kaytikazoo.tumblr.com/post/628148479617875968) and thought, that could be Deke with his daughter. So.... I wrote this. 
> 
> -k


End file.
